Exposure control apparatus and image pickup apparatus

ABSTRACT

An exposure control apparatus for controlling an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a captured image signal includes the following elements. A face detecting unit detects a face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of the captured image signal. A histogram data determining unit determines histogram data by setting a face detection region in the captured image according to detection information and detecting at least a brightness value of the face detection region from the captured image signal. A target brightness setting unit sets a target brightness range for desired brightness of the face. An exposure control amount determining unit determines, when a face is detected, an amount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism by comparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peak of the histogram data or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. JP 2006-020136, filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Jan. 30,2006, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to exposure control apparatuses forcontrolling an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of an imagesignal captured by a solid-state image pickup device, and image pickupapparatuses having an exposure control function. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to an exposure control apparatus and an imagepickup apparatus suitably used for capturing face images.

2. Description of the Related Art

An increasing number of image pickup apparatuses using solid-state imagepickup devices, such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras,having a function called a “scene mode” that provides optimum control,such as automatic exposure control, according to various scenes duringthe capture process have been available. For example, a “portrait mode,”which is suitably used for photography of the human face, is a modewhose exposure control target is set higher than general modes tothereby allow a human face image to be captured with optimum brightness.Therefore, images captured with beautiful skin tones can be obtained.

A related technique for detecting a face from a captured image signal isalso known. In one of various known face detection techniques, anaverage face image is used as a template to perform matching with aninput image signal (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2003-271933 (paragraph numbers [0051] to[0053] and FIG. 6)). If a face appearing in a captured image is tiltedat an angle, it is difficult to correctly detect such a face. Therefore,there have been proposed techniques, such as determining the angle ofthe face and rotating the face image according to the determined anglebefore performing the matching. In one known technique, a center line ofthe face is detected, the degree of similarity to the center line isdetermined on the basis of the face symmetry, and the angle of thecenter line with a high degree of similarity is output as the angle ofthe face (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 9-171560 (paragraph numbers [0032] to [0044] and FIG.4)).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the portrait mode is manually set by a user, and it istime-consuming for a photographer to perform the setting operation. Inparticular, a user who usually captures images with fully automaticsettings without caring about the settings of an image pickup apparatusmay avoid using the portrait mode due to the time-consuming nature ofthe operation.

Another challenging issue is to improve the quality of face images inthe portrait mode. The portrait mode further has a problem of impairedbalance of brightness between a face and a background. For example, whena face image is captured in a backlight situation, the face may be dark,or, when the background is dark, the face may be excessively bright,resulting in an “overexposed highlight” phenomenon.

It is therefore desirable to provide an image processing apparatus thatallows a user to obtain a high-quality face image without performing anyspecial setting operation during capturing of an image of a person'sface, and an image pickup apparatus having such a control function.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an exposure controlapparatus for controlling an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basisof an image signal captured by a solid-state image pickup deviceincludes the following elements. Face detecting means detects a face ofa person appearing in a captured image on the basis of the capturedimage signal. Histogram data determining means determines histogram databy setting a face detection region in the captured image according todetection information obtained by the face detecting means and detectingat least a brightness value of the face detection region from thecaptured image signal. Target brightness setting means sets a targetbrightness range for desired brightness of the face. When the facedetecting mean detects a face, exposure control amount determining meansdetermines an amount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism onthe basis of a comparison result obtained by comparing the targetbrightness range with a brightness value at a peak of histogram datacorresponding to the face detection region or a brightness region in thevicinity of the peak.

In the exposure control apparatus, the face detecting means detects aface of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of an imagecaptured by the solid-state image pickup device. The histogram datadetermining means determines histogram data by setting a face detectionregion in the captured image according to detection information obtainedby the face detecting means and detecting at least a brightness level ofthe face detection region from the captured image signal. The targetbrightness setting means sets a target brightness range for desiredbrightness of the face. When the face detecting mean detects a face, theexposure control amount determining means determines an amount ofcontrol for the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of acomparison result obtained by comparing the target brightness range witha brightness level at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the facedetection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, therefore, in theexposure control apparatus, a target brightness range that is set fordesired brightness of a face is compared with a brightness level at apeak of histogram data corresponding to a face region or a brightnessregion in the vicinity of the peak, and the amount of control for theexposure adjustment mechanism is determined on the basis of thecomparison result. Thus, the brightness of the face can be adjusted withhigh accuracy. Further, when a face of a person appearing in a capturedimage is detected, exposure control for adjusting the brightness of theface is automatically performed using brightness histogram data detectedfrom the face region in the image. Therefore, when a face image iscaptured, the quality of the face image can automatically be improvedwithout a special operation by a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main part of animage pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of exposure control andflash emission control;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for calculating an importancelevel of a face;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the correspondence between the face proportionand the face size importance level factor;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method for calculating the distancebetween the screen center region and the face;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method for calculating the included angle;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are graphs showing a method for calculating the faceposition importance level factor and a method for calculating theposition-posture importance level factor, respectively;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing methods for setting a detectionframe on the basis of face detection results;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for determining apeak of histogram data;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing a first example of the detection ofbrightness histogram data of the face and the background;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a second example of the detection ofbrightness histogram data of the face and the background;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a third example of the detection ofbrightness histogram data of the face and the background;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for setting atarget brightness range;

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount ofexternal light and the shift amount of the target brightness range;

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the importance levelof the face and the adjustment ratio for the width of the targetbrightness range;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a first portion of the flow of a processfor re-calculating the amount of exposure control and flash controlinformation;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a second portion of the flow of theprocess for re-calculating the amount of exposure control and flashcontrol information;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when the adjustmentamount is applied in step S511 in the state shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 19 is a correction curve to be used in step S513 shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when an adjustmentamount is applied in the state shown in FIG. 12 after gradationcorrection is performed;

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when the adjustmentamount is applied in the state shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when an adjustmentamount lower than the determined adjustment amount is applied in thestate shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 23 is a correction curve used in step S520 shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when a correctedadjustment amount is used in the state shown in FIG. 10 and gradationcorrection is performed; and

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the setting of an eyedetection region.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main part of animage pickup apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The image pickup apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an optical block 11,a driver 11 a, an image pickup device 12, a timing generator (TG) 12 a,an analog front end (AFE) circuit 13, a camera signal processing circuit14, a microcomputer 15, a graphic interface circuit 16, a display 17, aninput unit 18, and a flash emitter 19.

The optical block 11 includes a lens for focusing light from an objectonto the image pickup device 12, a driving mechanism for moving the lensfor focusing or zooming, a shutter mechanism, and an iris mechanism. Thedriver 11 a controls the driving of those mechanisms in the opticalblock 11 according to a control signal from the microcomputer 15.

The image pickup device 12 is a solid-state image pickup device, such asa charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS) image pickup device, and is driven by a timing signal output fromthe TG 12 a to convert incident light from the object into an electricalsignal. The TG 12 a outputs a timing signal under the control of themicrocomputer 15. In the embodiment, an analog image signal obtainedfrom the image pickup device 12 is a primary color signal of RGB colors.For example, the analog image signal may be any other color signal suchas a complementary color signal.

The AFE circuit 13 is formed of, for example, a single integratedcircuit (IC) for performing correlated double sampling (CDS) on theimage signal output from the image pickup device 12 to sample-and-holdit so that a high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio can be maintained. The AFEcircuit 13 further performs auto gain control (AGC) to control the gain,and performs analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion to output a digitalimage signal.

The camera signal processing circuit 14 is formed of, for example, asingle IC for performing camera signal processing, such as various typesof signal correction, auto focus (AF), and auto exposure (AE), on theimage signal output from the AFE circuit 13 or performing a portion ofthe processing. In the embodiment, the camera signal processing circuit14 includes an image preprocessor 21, an image processor 22, a histogramdetector 23, a color detector 24, and a face detector 25.

The image preprocessor 21 performs preprocessing, such as defectivepixel correction, digital clamping, and digital gain control, on theimage signal output from the AFE circuit 13. The image processor 22performs various image quality correction such as white-balanceadjustment, and sharpness, color saturation, and contrast adjustment.The operation of the image preprocessor 21 and the image processor 22 iscontrolled by the microcomputer 15.

The histogram detector 23 detects brightness information on the basis ofthe image signal output from the image preprocessor 21 to determine ahistogram for each predetermined range, and supplies the histograms tothe microcomputer 15. The color detector 24 detects color informationfor each predetermined range on the basis of the signal output from theimage preprocessor 21, and supplies the color information to themicrocomputer 15.

The face detector 25 detects a human face on the basis of the imagesignal output from the image processor 22, and supplies informationincluding the number of faces detected, and the size, position, and tiltof each face to the microcomputer 15. A method for face detection may beto perform matching between an input image and predetermined templatesrepresenting average face images.

The microcomputer 15 includes, for example, a central processing unit(CPU), a read only memory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM), andexecutes a program stored in the ROM or the like to generally controlthe respective sections of the image pickup apparatus. The microcomputer15 further communicates with the camera signal processing circuit 14 toexecute a portion of the calculation for various types of camera signalprocessing described above. In the embodiment, the microcomputer 15performs processing, such as calculating an amount of exposure controland an amount of gradation correction for exposure control, anddetermining whether or not flash light is necessary, according to theamount of external light and using the histogram detector 23, the colordetector 24, and the face detector 25.

The graphic interface circuit 16 converts the image data output from thecamera signal processing circuit 14 into a signal to be displayed on thedisplay 17, and supplies the signal to the display 17. The graphicinterface circuit 16 further superimposes a menu screen, various settingscreens and various warnings, and so forth on an image according to arequest from the microcomputer 15. The display 17 is formed of, forexample, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying an image based onthe image signal from the graphic interface circuit 16.

The input unit 18 includes, for example, a shutter release button, andkeys and dials for performing various settings such as turning on or offflash light, and supplies control information corresponding to a user'soperation of the button, keys and dials to the microcomputer 15.

The flash emitter 19 emits flash light according to flash controlinformation from the microcomputer 15.

In the image pickup apparatus, the image pickup device 12 receives lightand photoelectrically converts the light into a signal. The signal issequentially supplied to the AFE circuit 13 for CDS processing or AGCprocessing, and is then converted into a digital signal. The camerasignal processing circuit 14 performs image quality correction on thedigital image signal supplied from the AFE circuit 13, and converts theresult into a brightness signal (Y) and color difference signals (R−Yand B−Y) to finally output them.

The image data output from the camera signal processing circuit 14 issupplied to the graphic interface circuit 16 for conversion into animage signal for display, and a camera-through image is thereforedisplayed on the display 17. When a user operates the input unit 18 toissue an instruction to record an image to the microcomputer 15, theimage data output from the camera signal processing circuit 14 issupplied to an encoder (not shown) for predetermined compressionencoding, and the encoded data is recorded onto a recording medium (notshown). When a still image is to be recorded, image data of one frame issupplied from the camera signal processing circuit 14 to the encoder.When a moving image is to be recorded, processed image data isconsecutively supplied to the encoder.

The procedure for exposure control and flash emission control in theimage pickup apparatus will be described.

Overview of Exposure Control Process

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of exposure control andflash emission control. The overview of exposure control and flashemission control using face detection results will be described withreference to FIG. 2.

In step S101, the microcomputer 15 calculates an amount of exposurecontrol and flash control information using a standard AE control methodon the basis of a detected value of an image signal from the camerasignal processing circuit 14.

The standard AE control method is a process for calculating an amount ofexposure control and flash control information using a general processwithout using face detection results such as those obtained in stepsS102 to S110 described below. Basically, the amount of exposure controland flash control information are calculated on the basis of brightnessinformation detected from a captured image signal for an entire screen.The amount of exposure control is a value for controllingexposure-related parameters such as the opening of an iris in theoptical block 11, the shutter speed of a mechanical shutter in theoptical block 11 and an electronic shutter in the image pickup device 12(or one of those shutters), and a gain amount of AGC in the AFE circuit13. The flash control information is information for controlling theemission operation of the flash emitter 19.

In step S102, the face detector 25 of the camera signal processingcircuit 14 detects a human face from an image output from the imageprocessor 22.

In step S103, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the facedetector 25 has detected a face. If a face is detected, the processproceeds to step S104. If no face is detected, the amount of exposurecontrol and flash control information calculated in step S101 aredetermined as the final values, and the process ends.

In step S104, the microcomputer 15 obtains detection information of theface from the face detector 25, and calculates an importance level ofeach detected face on the basis of the detection information.

In step S105, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not a facehaving a higher importance level than a predetermined value is found. Ifsuch a face is found, the process proceeds to step S106. If such a faceis not found, the amount of exposure control and flash controlinformation calculated in step S101 are determined as the final values,and the process ends.

In step S106, the microcomputer 15 sets a detection frame for thehistogram detector 23 and the color detector 24 for brightness detectionand color detection, respectively, for each face having a higherimportance level found in step S105.

In step S107, the microcomputer 15 obtains brightness histogram data andcolor detection value for each face from the histogram detector 23 andthe color detector 24, respectively, using the detection frame set instep S106. If a plurality of faces having a higher importance level arefound in step S105, brightness histogram data for the individual facesare normalized with respect to the entire face region according to theindividual importance levels of the faces.

In step S108, the microcomputer 15 determines a peak of the histogramdata of the face. The microcomputer 15 further searches for limitbrightness values Yf_l and Yf_h defining a peak region, described below,on the basis of the frequency value and brightness value at the peak.

In step S109, the microcomputer 15 sets a target brightness range of theface according to the importance level and color of the face andexternal light information.

In step S110, the microcomputer 15 calculates a final amount of exposurecontrol and flash control information on the basis of the histogram dataof the face (in the case of the divisional detection method, thehistogram data normalized in step S107), the target brightness range setin step S109, and the amount of exposure control and flash controlinformation calculated in step S101.

Accordingly, exposure control can be performed so that a face image, inparticular, a face image that is important for a photographer, can becaptured with appropriate brightness while achieving the desiredbrightness balance between the face and the background. Further, once aface is detected, such exposure control taking the brightness balancebetween the face and the background into consideration can automaticallybe performed in a normal auto-shooting mode without performing thesetting operation by a photographer.

That is, once a face is detected from a captured image (step S103), onlywhen a face having a higher importance level than a predetermined valueis found from among the detected faces (step S105), exposure controltaking the brightness balance between the face and the background intoconsideration is performed (steps S106 to S110); otherwise, generalexposure control in the auto-shooting mode is performed.

The above-described process will be described in more detail.

Calculation of Control Value Using Standard AE Control Method

First, in step S101, an amount of exposure control and flash controlinformation are calculated using a standard AE control method. Asdescribed above, the AE control method is a general control method inthe auto-shooting mode. For example, the control method is performedaccording to Eq. (1) as follows:Ev=log₂(Fno ²)+log₂(1/T)+log₂(100/ISO)  Eq. (1)where Ev denotes the total amount of exposure control, Fno denotes theamount of control indicating the amount of aperture of the iris, Tdenotes the exposure time using at least one of the mechanical shutterand the electronic shutter, and ISO denotes the exposure sensitivity.

According to Eq. (1), the higher the shutter speed, the larger theamount of exposure control Ev, resulting in a smaller amount ofexposure. If the amount of light reflected from the subject does notchange, the brightness of the captured image becomes low. If theexposure sensitivity decrease, the amount of exposure control Evincreases, resulting in a reduction in the amount of exposure. If theamount of aperture of the iris increases, the amount of exposure controlEv increases, resulting in a reduction in the amount of exposure. In thecase of the same amount of external light (brightness of the subject),the larger the amount of exposure control Ev, the smaller the amount ofexposure, resulting in a darker image captured. Conversely, the smallerthe amount of exposure control Ev, the larger the amount of exposure,resulting in a brighter image captured.

Determination of Importance Level of Face

Then, the face detector 25 detects a face from a captured image signal(step S102 shown in FIG. 2), and the microcomputer 15 calculates animportance level of the detected face on the basis of detection resultsobtained by the face detector 25 (step S104 shown in FIG. 2) accordingto a procedure described below with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for calculating an importancelevel of a face, which corresponds to the processing of step S104.

In step S201, the microcomputer 15 obtains face size, position, and tiltinformation as detection information of each face detected by the facedetector 25.

In step S202, the microcomputer 15 calculates a face proportion r_sizerepresenting the ratio of the size of the face to the size of the entirescreen, and stores the result in the RAM (not shown) or the like.

In step S203, the microcomputer 15 calculates a face size importancelevel factor Wsize of the face on the basis of the calculation resultobtained in step S202. The face size importance level factor Wsizerepresents an importance level to be estimated from the ratio of thesize of the face to the size of the entire screen. The face sizeimportance level factor Wsize is calculated according to the faceproportion r_size using Eqs. (2) to (4) as follows:

for r_size>Rfb2,Wsize=100 [%]  Eq. (2)for Rfb1≦r_size≦Rfb2,Wsize=(r_size−Rfb1)/(Rfb2−Rfb1)  Eq. (3)for r_size<Rfb1,Wsize=0  Eq. (4)where Rfb1 and Rfb2 are threshold values satisfying Rfb1<Rfb2.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the correspondence between the face proportionr_size and the face size importance level factor Wsize.

According to Eqs. (2) to (4) given above and FIG. 4, if the faceproportion r_size relative to the screen exceeds the predeterminedthreshold value Rfb2, it is determined that the photographerintentionally selects the face as the target, and the face sizeimportance level factor Wsize is set to a maximum value of 100%.Conversely, if the face proportion r_size is less than the predeterminedthreshold value Rfb1, it is determined that not the face but anotherface or the background is the target, and the face size importance levelfactor Wsize is set to 0. If the face proportion r_size is within arange (between the threshold values Rfb1 and Rfb2), it is difficult toclearly determine whether or not the face is the target, and the sizeimportance level factor Wsize successively changes according to theproportion. Specifically, the larger the face proportion r_size, thehigher the importance level because of a higher possibility of being thetarget.

Referring back to FIG. 3, in step S204, the microcomputer 15 determineswhether or not the face size importance level factor Wsize is 0. If theface size importance level factor Wsize is not 0, the processing of stepS205 is performed. If the face size importance level factor Wsize is 0,the processing of step S210 is performed.

In step S205, the microcomputer 15 calculates a distance L between apredetermined screen center region and the face.

In step S206, the microcomputer 15 calculates a face position importancelevel factor PosW indicating an importance level to be estimated fromthe position of the face within the screen. In this case, themicrocomputer 15 calculates a maximum face position importance levelfactor value PosWh and a minimum face position importance level factorvalue PosW1 according to the distance L determined in step S205.

In step S207, the microcomputer 15 calculates an included angle ang. Theincluded angle ang is defined between a predicted centroid ray LineAdirected from the face toward the feet and a ray LineB directed from theface toward the center of the screen on the basis of the face positionand tilt information.

In step S208, the microcomputer 15 calculates a face position-postureimportance level factor Wpos on the basis of the calculation resultsobtained in steps S206 and S207. The face position-posture importancelevel factor Wpos represents an importance level to be estimated fromthe position and tilt of the face within the screen. As described below,the available range of the face position-posture importance level factorWpos is restricted according to the distance L between the screen centerregion and the face, which is determined in step S205.

In step S209, the microcomputer 15 calculates a final importance levelWf of the face using Eq. (5) as follows:Wf=Wsize×Wpos  Eq. (5)

By using Eq. (5) given above, the importance level Wf of the face can bedetermined on the basis of three parameters, namely, the size, position,and tilt of the face within the screen. Therefore, it can be suitablydetermined whether or not the detected face is intentionally selected asthe target by the user.

If it is determined in step S204 that the face size importance levelfactor Wsize is 0, then in step S210, the microcomputer 15 sets thefinal importance level Wf of the face to 0.

After the processing of step S209 or S210 is performed, in step S211,the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the calculation of theimportance level Wf has been completed for all the faces detected by theface detector 25. If the calculation has not yet been completed, theprocess returns to step S203, and the importance level Wf of anotherface is calculated. If the calculation has been completed for all thefaces, this sub-routine ends.

The processing of steps S205 to S208 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method for calculating the distance Lbetween the screen center region and the face, which corresponds to theprocessing of step S205.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment, a region 101 having apredetermined area is defined around the center of the screen, and adistance L between the boundary of the region 101 and a position of aface 102 (typically, the center of the face 102) within the screen iscalculated. As described below, the smaller the distance L, the higherthe importance level (the position importance level factor PosW) becausethe face 102 is closer to the center of the screen. In this example, itis determined that a face located in the region 101 around the center ofthe screen will equivalently have a high possibility of being thetarget. The distance L may be defined between the center of the screenand the face. Further, the size of the region 101 may be variably set bythe user.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method for calculating the included angleang, which corresponds to the processing of step S207. In FIG. 6, forthe convenience of easy understanding, face images are illustrated asbeing shifted from the center nodes of the images. Actually, however,the center nodes are positioned at the center of the faces (e.g., aroundthe nose).

If the tilt of a given face is represented by an angle relative to thevertical center line of the face, a predicted centroid ray LineAdirected from the face toward the feet is a ray that is drawn downwardfrom the face along its center line with respect to the center of theface (the position corresponding to the position information of theface) as the origin. The angle between the predicted centroid ray LineAand a ray LineB directed from the center of the face toward a screencenter C0 is referred to as an included angle ang, where 0≦ang≦180. InFIG. 6, for example, a face 111 located at an upper left position withrespect to the screen center C0 is detected, and has a center node C1.If the face 111 is tilted at an angle of 0°, the predicted centroid rayLineA of the face 111 is drawn downward in the screen, and the ray LineBdirected toward the screen center C0 is drawn toward the lower right ofthe screen. The included angle ang is defined between the predictedcentroid ray LineA and the ray LineB.

In the embodiment, as described below, the lower the included angle ang,the higher the importance level (the position-posture importance levelfactor Wpos). For example, if faces 111 and 112 are located at an upperleft position and a lower left position with respect to the screencenter C0, respectively, and are tilted at an angle of 0°, the includedangle ang of the face 112 is greater than that of the face 111, and itis therefore determined that the importance level of the face 112 islower. This determination is based on a determination rule that thedistance between the center node C1 of the face 111 and the edge of thescreen in the direction of the predicted centroid ray LineA is larger sothat the whole body of the person corresponding to the face 111 mayhighly possibly appear in the screen, and therefore the possibility ofthat person being the target is higher.

According to a similar determination rule, when faces 113 and 114 arelocated at above and below the screen center C0, respectively, and aretilted at an angle of 0°, the included angles of the faces 113 and 114are 0° and 180°, respectively. Therefore, the importance level of theface 113 is higher. Further, for faces 115 and 116 that are tilted at anangle greater than 0°, the predicted centroid rays LineA and the raysLineB toward the screen center C0 are directed in the same direction,and the included angles ang of both faces are 0°. Therefore, theimportance levels of the faces 115 and 116 are high. In the case of thefaces 115 and 116, for example, when the capturing operation isperformed with the image pickup apparatus tilted about the lens opticalaxis, the same determination rule may apply to determine the importancelevels. That is, regardless of the tilt of the face, the larger thespace extending downward from the face (toward the feet) within thescreen, the higher the possibility of that person being the targetbecause of a higher possibility that the whole body of the personcorresponding to the face will appear in the screen.

The above-described determination rule is merely an example, and adetermination rule different from that described above (or adetermination rule in which other conditions are added to theabove-described determination rule) may be used on the basis theposition and tilt of faces to calculate the importance levels.Alternatively, a plurality of determination rules may be provided sothat the user can change them by a setting operation.

A method for calculating the face position importance level factor PosWand the position-posture importance level factor Wpos will be describedin detail.

First, in step S206 shown in FIG. 3, the face position importance levelfactor Posw is calculated using Eqs. (6) to (8) as follows:PosWh={(PosW2−PosW1)/L2}×L+PosW1  Eq. (6)for 0≦L≦L1,PosW1={(PosW3−PosW1)/L1}×L+PosW1  Eq. (7)for L1<L≦L2,PosW1=PosW3  Eq. (8)where L1 denotes a predetermined threshold value, L2 denotes a maximumvalue of the distance L between the face and the screen center region,and PosW1, PosW2, and PosW3 denote predetermined threshold values, where0≦PosW3≦PosW2≦PosW1.

In step S208 shown in FIG. 3, the face position-posture importance levelfactor Wpos is calculated using Eqs. (9) and (10) as follows:

for 0≦ang≦Ang1,Wpos=PosWh  Eq. (9)for Ang1<ang≦180,Wpos=−{(PosWh−PosW1)/(180−Ang1)}×(ang−Ang1)+PosWh  Eq. (10)where Ang1 denotes a predetermined threshold value satisfying0≦Ang1≦180.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are graphs showing a method for calculating the faceposition importance level factor PosW and a method for calculating theposition-posture importance level factor Wpos, respectively.

FIG. 7A shows the relationship between the distance L between the faceand the screen center region and the face position importance levelfactors PosWh and PosW1 according to Eqs. (6) to (8) given above. As canbe seen from FIG. 7A, basically, the larger the distance L between theface and the screen center region, the smaller the face positionimportance level factors PosWh and PosW1.

FIG. 7B shows the relationship between the included angle ang and theface position-posture importance level factor wpos according to Eqs. (9)and (10) given above. As can be seen from FIG. 7B, basically, the largerthe included angle ang, the smaller the face position-posture importancelevel factor Wpos. As can also be seen from FIGS. 7A and 7B, the faceposition importance level factors PosWh and PosW1 define the upper andlower limits of the face position-posture importance level factor Wpos,respectively.

According to FIGS. 7A and 7B and Eqs. (2) to (5), if the size of adetected face is large or the position of the face is close to thescreen center region, and if the space extending downward from the facein the screen is large, the importance level of the face is high.Therefore, the degree of possibility that a detected face isintentionally selected as the target by the user can be determined withhigh accuracy.

In FIG. 7B, when the included angle ang is equal to or lower than Ang1,the face position-posture importance level factor Wpos is set constantat the upper limit. Thereby, even if the face is tilted to some extentwith respect to the ray drawn from the face toward the feet, it can bedetermined that the importance level is high.

In FIG. 7A, by setting the face position importance level factor PosWhto be larger than 0, the lower limit of the face position-postureimportance level factor Wpos can be larger than 0 to prevent the finalimportance level Wf of the face from being equal to 0. Therefore, forexample, when the user captures an image so that a face canintentionally be positioned at the edge of the screen, the brightness ofthe face can possibly be adjusted.

Brightness Histogram Data and Color Detection

The processing of steps S106 and S107 shown in FIG. 2 will be describedin detail. The brightness histogram data and the detection of colorinformation differ depending on the method for setting a face detectionframe on the screen. The following description will be made in thecontext of a normal frame method and a divisional detection method. Inthe normal frame method, a detection frame is flexibly set according tothe position and size of a detected face. The divisional detectionmethod uses a plurality of detection frames into which the screen isdivided in advance.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing methods for setting a detectionframe on the basis of face detection results, which correspond to theprocessing of step S106. FIG. 8A shows the normal frame method, and FIG.8B shows the divisional detection method.

As shown in FIG. 8A, in the normal frame method, the microcomputer 15sets a face detection frame 121 for the histogram detector 23 and thecolor detector 24 so as to contour the face according to the faceposition and size information obtained from the face detector 25. Thebrightness information and color information of the detected face aredetected from an image signal inside the detection frame 121 and abackground, except for the face, is detected from an image signaloutside the detection frame 121.

In the divisional detection method, on the other hand, the brightnessinformation and the color information are generally detected in units ofa plurality of divisional frames configured in the screen. In theexample shown in FIG. 8B, the screen is divided into nine detectionframes in the horizontal direction and eight detection frames in thevertical direction. In step S106, the microcomputer 15 selects adetection frame that is mostly occupied by the face on the basis of theface position and size information obtained from the face detector 25,and sets the selected detection frame for the histogram detector 23 andthe color detector 24 as a face detection frame. In the example shown inFIG. 8B, brightness information and color information from fourdetection frames, namely, X6Y5, X7Y5, X6Y6, and X7Y6, are designated asface detection values, and brightness information and color informationfrom the remaining detection frames are designated as backgrounddetection values.

In either the normal frame method or the divisional detection method, ifa plurality of faces are detected, a region that is not included in allthe face detection frames are designated as a background detectionregion.

After a face detection frame is set for the histogram detector 23 andthe color detector 24 in the manner described above, the microcomputer15 obtains the brightness histogram data and color information of eachdetected face from the histogram detector 23 and the color detector 24on the basis of the detection frame (step S107). In step S107, thebrightness histogram data and color information of the backgroundregion, except for the face, or the brightness histogram data and colorinformation of the entire screen are also obtained, if necessary.

In a case where a plurality of faces are detected, a coefficient(weighting) is set according to the importance level of each facedetermined in step S104. The coefficient is multiplied by the brightnesshistogram data for each face region, and the results are added, therebynormalizing the brightness histogram data with respect to all the faceregions. The normalized histogram data is stored in the RAM (not shown)or the like, and is used as brightness histogram data for the facesafter the processing of step S107. Among the color information detectedfrom the face regions, the color information of the face having thehighest importance level is stored in the RAM or the like, and is usedas face color information after the processing of step S107.

Determination of Peak of Histogram Data

A process for determining a peak of the histogram data in step S108shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the peak determinationprocess.

In step S301, the microcomputer 15 reads the brightness histogram dataof the face determined in step S107 shown in FIG. 2 from, for example,the RAM or the like. The histogram data is obtained as a sequence offrequency information corresponding to N brightness values (or N stepsof brightness range).

In step S302, the microcomputer 15 extracts the maximum frequency andthe corresponding brightness information from the read brightnesshistogram data of the face.

In step S303, the microcomputer 15 calculates threshold valuesindicating the lower limit and upper limit of the frequency at theextracted maximum frequency of the face (at which the frequency peaks).

In step S304, the microcomputer 15 detects limit brightness values atthe peak value of the frequency and based on the peak for adjusting theamount of exposure control in the subsequent processing.

FIGS. 10 to 12 are diagrams showing examples of the detection ofbrightness histogram data of the face and the background. FIG. 10 showsa case where the background is relatively brighter than the face, FIG.11 shows a case where, conversely, the face is brighter than thebackground, and FIG. 12 shows a case where the face is significantlybrighter than the background. The above-described processing will bespecifically described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the brightness value at thepeak of the histogram data of the face extracted in step S302 isrepresented by Yf, and the peak value of the frequency at the brightnessvalue Yf is represented by Ff. In step S303, an upper limit thresholdvalue Ff_max and a lower limit threshold value Ff_lmt of the frequencyat the peak for the face are calculated. The upper limit threshold valueFf_max is designated as the peak value of the frequency, and the lowerlimit threshold value Ff_lmt is determined using Eq. (11) as follows:Ff _(—) lmt=Ff_max×Rf _(—) lmt  Eq. (11)where Rf_lmt denotes a coefficient, where 0≦Rf_lmt≦1. In FIGS. 10 to 12,the coefficient is ½, by way of example.

In step S304, a limit brightness value for determining a control targetrange in the subsequent processing is searched for based on the lowerlimit threshold value Ff_lmt extracted in step S303. The limitbrightness value determines a brightness region (peak region) includingthe peak. The histogram data of the face is scanned from the peak at thebrightness value Yf toward the low-brightness side and thehigh-brightness side, and the brightness values obtained at the lowerlimit threshold value Ff_lmt (in this example, Ff/2) of the frequencyare designated as lower and upper limit brightness values Yf_l and Yf_h,respectively. The limit brightness values Yf_l and Yf_h are stored inthe RAM or the like.

Setting of Target Brightness Range of Face

A process for setting a target brightness range in step S109 shown inFIG. 2 will be described in detail.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the target brightness rangesetting process.

In step S401, the microcomputer 15 provisionally sets a targetbrightness range (with a lower limit value Ya_l and an upper limit valueYa_h) for adjusting the brightness of the face. In step S401, initialvalues defining a certain target brightness range that is determined inadvance so that a face image can be captured with optimum brightness.For example, for a maximum brightness value of 255 (brightness valuesfor 8-bit data), Ya_l=140 and Ya_h=200 are set. In FIGS. 10 to 12, anexample of the setting of a target brightness range is also illustratedfor reference.

Then, the microcomputer 15 performs the processing of steps S402 to S406to finely adjust the target brightness range of the face provisionallyset in step S401 according to various parameters such as the amount ofexternal light, the brightness histogram data, and the importance levelso that the desired brightness balance between the face and thebackground can be achieved.

In step S402, the microcomputer 15 shifts the target brightness rangeaccording to the color information detected from the face region (thecolor information for the face having the highest importance level,which is stored in the RAM or the like in step S107 shown in FIG. 2).

For example, if the color saturation of the face is high, the targetbrightness range is shifted toward the low-brightness side. If the colorsaturation of the face is low, the reflectivity of the face isdetermined. If the reflectivity is high, the target brightness range isshifted toward the high-brightness side. If the reflectivity is low, thetarget brightness range is shifted toward the low-brightness side.Therefore, the control target value can be changed according to the faceskin color.

In step S403, the microcomputer 15 calculates an amount of externallight Lv according to Eq. (12) as follows:Lv=log₂(Fno ²)+log₂(1/T)+log₂(100/ISO)+log₂(Yave/Y _(—) N)  Eq. (12)where Y_N denotes a predetermined control target value of brightnessrelative to the entire screen, and Yave denotes the average of detectedbrightness values.

In step S404, the microcomputer 15 further shifts the target brightnessrange of the face according to the determined amount of external lightLv.

A shift amount Yshift by which the target brightness range is to beshifted is determined using Eqs. (13) to (17) below, and the shiftamount Yshift is added to the current lower limit value Ya_l and upperlimit value Ya_h of the target brightness range:

for Lv<LV1,Yshift=SHIFT2  Eq. (13)for LV1≦Lv<LV2,Yshift={SHIFT2*(LV2−Lv)}/(LV2−LV1)  Eq. (14)for LV2≦Lv<LV3,Yshift=0  Eq. (15)for LV3≦Lv<LV4,Yshift={SHIFT1*(Lv−LV3)}/(LV4−LV3)  Eq. (16)for LV4≦Lv,Yshift=SHIFT1  Eq. (17)where LV1, LV2, LV3, and LV4 denote threshold values of the amount ofexternal light satisfying 0≦LV1<LV2<LV3<LV4, and SHIFT1 and SHIFT2denote constants indicating the upper and lower limits of the shiftamount Yshift, respectively, satisfying SHIFT2<0<SHIFT1.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount ofexternal light Lv and the shift amount Yshift of the target brightnessrange according to Eqs. (13) to (17) given above.

As shown in Eqs. (13) to (17) and FIG. 14, basically, the targetbrightness range is shifted toward the low-brightness side as the amountof external light decreases, and the target brightness range is shiftedtoward the high-brightness side as the amount of external lightincreases. Therefore, the brightness is controlled so that thephotographic style can strongly be reflected to allow the face and thebackground to appear with a more natural balance. The possible range ofthe shift amount Yshift is controlled between the SHIFT1 and the SHIFT2in order to prevent an unnatural image in which the brightness of theface is too adjusted to the photographic environment.

Referring back to FIG. 13, in step S405, the microcomputer 15 calculatesan amount of overexposure and an amount of underexposure from thehistogram data of the entire screen, and further shifts the targetbrightness range according to the obtained amount of overexposure andunderexposure.

The amount of overexposure indicates the degree of occurrence ofoverexposed highlights. The amount of overexposure is calculated by, forexample, determining how much the frequency of occurrence of overexposedhighlights in a predetermined high-brightness region is higher than athreshold value. The amount of underexposure indicates the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed shadows. The amount of underexposure iscalculated by, for example, determining how much the frequency ofoccurrence of underexposed shadows in a predetermined low-brightnessregion is higher than a threshold value. The target brightness range islargely shifted toward the low-brightness side when the amount ofoverexposed areas is high; whereas the target brightness range islargely shifted toward the high-brightness side as the amount ofunderexposed areas is high. Therefore, the occurrence of overexposedhighlights or underexposed shadows can be prevented over the entirescreen.

For example, the histogram data of the entire screen may be obtainedfrom the histogram detector 23 in step S107 shown in FIG. 2. Instead ofthe entire screen, the histogram data of the background, except for theface, may be used to calculate the amount of underexposure and theamount of overexposure.

In step S406, the microcomputer 15 adjusts the width of the targetbrightness range according to the importance level Wf of the facedetermined in step S104 shown in FIG. 2 (if a plurality of faces exist,for example, the maximum value of the importance levels Wf of thosefaces). In this case, an adjustment ratio (scale) for the width of thetarget brightness range is determined, and the width of the targetbrightness range is changed according to the adjustment ratio (scale) tocalculate the lower limit value Ya_l and upper limit value Ya_h of thetarget brightness range. The adjustment ratio (scale) for the width ofthe target brightness range can be determined using Eqs. (18) to (20) asfollows:

for Wf≦WL,scale=SCALE_MAX  Eq. (18)for WL<Wf≦WH,scale={(SCALE_MAX−1)×(WH−Wf)}/(WH−WL)+1  Eq. (19)for WH<Wf,scale=1  Eq. (20)where WL and WH denote threshold values for the importance level Wf ofthe face, satisfying 0≦WL<WH, and SCALE_MAX denotes the upper limitthreshold value of the adjustment ratio (scale), satisfying SCALE_MAX>1.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the importance levelWf of the face and the adjustment ratio (scale) for the width of thetarget brightness range according to Eqs. (18) to (20) given above.

As shown in Eqs. (18) to (20) given above and FIG. 15, basically, thelower the importance level Wf of the face, the larger the targetbrightness range is adjusted to be. With this control, if the importancelevel Wf of the face is high, exposure adjustment is preferentiallyperformed on the face; whereas if the importance level Wf is low, thetarget brightness range is adjusted to be large so that the effect ofexposure control adjustment based on the amount of detection of the facecan be reduced to perform exposure adjustment on both the face and thebackground in a well-balanced manner.

For example, a small target brightness range may be set in step S401. Instep S406, if the importance level Wf of the face is high, the targetbrightness range may be increased so that the adjustment ratio (scale)can be equal to or more than 1.

The process shown in FIG. 13 allows the target brightness range to beadjusted so that the desired brightness balance between the face and thebackground, as well as appropriate brightness of the face, can beachieved.

Re-Calculation of Amount of Exposure Control and Flash ControlInformation

A process for re-calculating the amount of exposure control and theflash control information, which corresponds to the processing of stepS110 shown in FIG. 2, will be described in detail. In this process, afinal amount of exposure control and flash control information arecalculated on the basis of the amount of exposure control and flashcontrol information determined using the standard AE control method instep S101, the information such as the peak of the histogram datadetermined in step S108, and the target brightness range determined instep S109. Therefore, exposure control can be performed so that thebrightness of the face can be appropriately adjusted while the desiredbrightness balance between the face and the background can be achievedwithout the occurrence of underexposed shadows or overexposed highlightsin the background or the like.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are flowcharts showing the flow of the process forre-calculating the amount of exposure control and the flash controlinformation.

In step S501, the microcomputer 15 uses the limit brightness values Yf_land Yf_h based on the peak, which are determined in step S304 shown inFIG. 9, and the lower limit value Ya_l and the upper limit value Ya_h ofthe target brightness range, which are determined in the process shownin FIG. 13, to compare the width of the peak region of the histogramdata of the face (Yf_h-Yf_l) with the width of the target brightnessrange (Ya_h-Ya_l). If the width of the peak region is larger than thatof the target brightness range, the processing of step S502 isperformed. If the width of the peak region is equal to or smaller thanthe width of the target brightness range, the processing of step S506 isperformed.

After the comparison processing is performed, the microcomputer 15adjusts the amount of exposure control so that the peak or the peakregion is included in the target brightness range. In the embodiment, ifthe width of the peak region is larger than that of the targetbrightness range, the amount of exposure control is adjusted so that thepeak is included in the target brightness range; whereas if the width ofthe peak region is smaller than that of the target brightness range, theamount of exposure control is adjusted so that the peak region itself isincluded in the target brightness range.

In step S502, the microcomputer 15 compares the brightness value Yf atthe peak of the histogram data of the face with the upper limit valueYa_h of the target brightness range. If the brightness value Yf at thepeak is higher, the processing of step S503 is performed. If thebrightness value Yf at the peak is equal to or lower than the upperlimit value Ya_h, the processing of step S504 is performed.

In step S503, since the brightness value Yf at the peak of the histogramdata of the face is higher than the upper limit value Ya_h of the targetbrightness range, the microcomputer 15 calculates an adjustment amountΔEv by which the amount of exposure control is to be adjusted using Eq.(21) below so that the peak can be shifted toward the low-brightnessside, that is, the amount of incident light can decrease. The adjustmentamount ΔEv can therefore be determined so that the peak can be includedin the target brightness range.ΔEv=−log₂(Yf/Ya _(—) h)  Eq. (21)

In step S504, the microcomputer 15 compares the brightness value Yf atthe peak of the histogram data of the face with the lower limit valueYa_l of the target brightness range.

If the brightness value Yf at the peak is equal to or higher than thelower limit value Ya_l, it can be considered that the peak is includedin the target brightness range, resulting in an exposure control statein which the balance between the face and the background can beappropriately adjusted. Thus, the process ends, and the exposuremechanism and the flash emission operation are controlled using theamount of exposure control and flash control information determined instep S101 shown in FIG. 2. If the brightness value Yf at the peak islower than the lower limit value Ya_l, the processing of step S505 isperformed.

In step S505, since the brightness value Yf at the peak of the histogramdata of the face is lower than the lower limit value Ya_l of the targetbrightness range, the microcomputer 15 calculates an adjustment amountΔEv by which the amount of exposure control is to be adjusted using Eq.(22) below so that the peak can be shifted toward the high-brightnessside, that is, the amount of incident light can increase. The adjustmentamount ΔEv can therefore be determined so that the peak can be includedin the target brightness range.ΔEv=−log₂(Yf/Ya _(—) l)  Eq. (22)

In step S506, the microcomputer 15 compares the limit brightness valueYf_l based on the peak of the histogram data of the face with the lowerlimit value Ya_l of the target brightness range. If the limit brightnessvalue Yf_l is lower, the processing of step S507 is performed. If thelimit brightness value Yf_l is equal to or higher than the lower limitvalue Ya_l, the processing of step S508 is performed.

In step S507, since at least the low-brightness-side peak region of thehistogram data of the face is outside the target brightness range, it isdetermined that it is in an underexposure state such as the state shownin FIG. 10. Thus, the microcomputer 15 calculates an adjustment amountΔEv by which the amount of exposure control is to be adjusted using Eq.(23) below so that the peak can be shifted toward the high-brightnessside, that is, the amount of incident light can increase. The adjustmentamount ΔEv can therefore be determined so that the peak can be includedin the target brightness range.ΔEv=−log₂(Yf _(—) l/Ya _(—) l)  Eq. (23)

In step S508, the microcomputer 15 compares the limit brightness valueYf_h based on the peak with the upper limit value Ya_h of the targetbrightness range.

If the limit brightness value Yf_h is equal to or lower than the upperlimit value Ya_h, as in the state shown in FIG. 11, the whole peakregion is inside the target brightness range. Then, the process ends,and the exposure mechanism and the flash emission operation arecontrolled using the amount of exposure control and flash controlinformation determined in step S101 shown in FIG. 2. If the limitbrightness value Yf_h is higher than the upper limit value Ya_h, theprocessing of step S509 is performed.

In step S509, since at least the high-brightness-side peak region of thehistogram data if the face is outside the target brightness range, it isdetermined that it is in an overexposure state such as the state shownin FIG. 12. Thus, the microcomputer 15 calculates an adjustment amountΔEv by which the amount of exposure control is to be adjusted using Eq.(24) below so that the peak can be shifted toward the low-brightnessside, that is, the amount of incident light can decrease. The adjustmentamount ΔEv can therefore be determined so that the peak region can beincluded in the target brightness range.ΔEv=−log₂(Yf _(—) h/Ya _(—) h)  Eq. (24)

In step S510, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not theadjustment amount ΔEv determined in step S503, S505, S507, or S509 islarger than 0.

If the adjustment amount ΔEv is smaller than 0, the amount of exposurecontrol Ev determined in step S101 shown in FIG. 2 is smaller than theideal value, resulting in overexposure if control is performed using thecurrent amount of exposure control Ev. If the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied to the amount of exposure control Ev (in this case, theadjustment amount ΔEv is subtracted from the amount of exposure controlEv), the amount of exposure will be low, resulting in a possibility ofunderexposed shadows. If the adjustment amount ΔEv is smaller than 0 (inthis case, including the case of ΔEv=0), therefore, the processing ofsteps S511 to S513 is performed to correct brightness gradation so asnot to cause underexposed shadows.

If the adjustment amount ΔEv is larger than 0, the amount of exposurecontrol Ev determined in step S101 shown in FIG. 2 is higher than theideal value, resulting in underexposure if control is performed usingthe current amount of exposure control Ev. If the adjustment amount ΔEvis applied to the amount of exposure control Ev, the amount of exposurewill be high, resulting in a possibility of overexposed highlights. Ifthe adjustment amount ΔEv is larger than 0, therefore, the processing ofsteps S515 to S521 is performed to perform processing so as not to causeoverexposed highlights, such as correcting brightness gradation,correcting the adjustment amount ΔEv, and determining whether emissionof flash light is allowed.

In step S511, the microcomputer 15 calculates a predicted underexposureratio Ri on the basis of the brightness histogram data of the entirescreen. The predicted underexposure ratio Ri represents the proportionof a screen region having a possibility of underexposed shadows due toan insufficient amount of exposure when the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied. Specifically, for example, as shown in the graph of FIG. 12, alow-brightness region VL1 whose brightness level is lower than apredetermined threshold value is defined, and the number of pixelsincluded in the low-brightness region VL1 is determined from thehistogram data of the entire screen. The ratio of the number of pixelsin the low-brightness region VL1 to the number of pixels of the entirescreen is designated as the predicted underexposure ratio Ri.

In step S512, the microcomputer 15 compares the determined predictedunderexposure ratio Ri with a threshold value Ri_thr. If the predictedunderexposure ratio Ri is higher than the threshold value Ri_thr, theprocessing of step S513 is performed. If the predicted underexposureratio Ri is equal to or lower than the threshold value Ri_thr, theprocessing of step S514 is performed.

In step S513, since it is determined that the subject corresponding tothe low-brightness region VL1 has a high possibility of underexposedshadows, the microcomputer 15 converts the brightness of the input imagesignal using a gamma curve or the like, and controls the camera signalprocessing circuit 14 so that the gradation in the low-brightness sidecan be increased. Therefore, the captured image signal to which theadjustment amount ΔEv is applied is subjected to gradation correction,and the image quality of the low-brightness region is improved. Then,the processing of step S514 is performed.

The gradation correction function used in step S513 is included in theimage preprocessor 21 or image processor 22 of the camera signalprocessing circuit 14. However, the histogram detector 23 detectsbrightness information from the image signal that has not been subjectedto gradation correction.

In step S514, the microcomputer 15 updates the amount of exposurecontrol Ev by applying the current adjustment amount ΔEv to the amountof exposure control Ev. In this case, the adjustment amount ΔEv issubtracted from the amount of exposure control Ev. The exposuremechanism is controlled using the updated amount of exposure control Ev.

The processing of steps S512 to S514 will further be described withrespect to an example.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing histogram data obtained when the adjustmentamount ΔEv is applied in step S511 in the state shown in FIG. 12.

In the state shown in FIG. 12, the amount of exposure of the face isexcessively high, and a captured image whose brightness is low as awhole is obtained, as shown in FIG. 18, if the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied. The pixels included in the low-brightness region VL1 shown inFIG. 12 before the exposure correction are included in a low-brightnessregion VL2 shown in FIG. 18. The upper limit of the low-brightnessregion VL2 is lower than the upper limit of the low-brightness regionVL1 before the exposure correction. Thus, when the adjustment amount ΔEvis applied, the pixels included in the low-brightness region VL2 have aninsufficient amount of exposure, resulting in a high possibility ofunderexposed shadows.

In step S512 shown in FIG. 17, therefore, if the proportion of thescreen region included in the low-brightness region VL1 before theexposure correction is high, it is determined that the possibility ofunderexposed shadows occurring in that region is high, and theprocessing of step S513 is performed to increase the brightnessgradation in the low-brightness side.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a correction curve to be used in step S513shown in FIG. 17.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the gradation correction in step S513, forexample, a gamma curve that increases the low-brightness component inthe input brightness signal can be used. Such a correction curve isdetermined in advance based on a test result obtained by changing thepredicted underexposure ratio Ri, the peak of the histogram data of theface, or the like.

FIG. 20 shows histogram data obtained when the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied in the state shown in FIG. 12 after the gradation correction isperformed.

A captured image having the histogram shown in FIG. 20 is obtained by,for example, performing gradation correction on the image correspondingthe graph of FIG. 12 and then performing exposure adjustment using theadjustment amount ΔEv. The obtained image is based on an output imagesignal from the camera signal processing circuit 14.

The pixels included in the low-brightness region VL1 shown in FIG. 12are included in a low-brightness region VL3 shown in FIG. 20; however,the upper limit of the low-brightness region VL3 is not substantiallydifferent from that of the low-brightness region VL1. Therefore, thelow-brightness component can have gradation even after exposureadjustment is performed, and the occurrence of underexposed shadows isreduced.

Referring back to FIG. 17, in step S515, the microcomputer 15 calculatesa predicted overexposure ratio Ro on the basis of the brightnesshistogram data of the entire screen. The predicted overexposure ratio Rorepresents the proportion of a screen region having a possibility ofoverexposed highlights due to an excessive amount of exposure when theadjustment amount ΔEv is applied. Specifically, for example, as shown inthe graph of FIG. 10, a high-brightness region VH1 whose brightnesslevel is higher than a predetermined threshold value is defined, and thenumber of pixels included in the high-brightness region VH1 isdetermined from the histogram data of the entire screen. The ratio ofthe number of pixels in the high-brightness region VH1 to the number ofpixels of the entire screen is designated as the predicted overexposureratio Ro.

In step S516, the microcomputer 15 compares the determined predictedoverexposure ratio Ro with a threshold value Ro_thr.

If the predicted overexposure ratio Ro is equal to or lower than thethreshold value Ro_thr, it is determined that the possibility ofoverexposed highlights is low. Then, the process proceeds to step S514,and the current adjustment amount ΔEv is applied to perform exposurecontrol. If the predicted overexposure ratio Ro is larger than thethreshold value Ro_thr, the processing of step S517 is performed.

In step S517, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not the flashlight reaches the subject. If it is determined that the flash lightreaches the subject, the processing of step S518 is performed. If it isdetermined that the flash light does not reach, the processing of stepS520 is performed. For example, the microcomputer 15 can predict thedistance to the subject on the basis of the amount of control by thelens position for focusing, and can determine that the flash lightreaches when the predicted distance is equal to or lower than apredetermined threshold value.

In step S518, the microcomputer 15 determines whether or not a flashemission prohibition mode is currently set by the user. If the flashemission prohibition mode is set, the processing of step S519 isperformed. If the flash emission prohibition mode is not set, theprocessing of step S521 is performed.

In step S519, the microcomputer 15 performs control so as to give awarning to the user to perform an operation for emitting the flashlight. For example, control information for displaying warninginformation on the display 17 is output to the graphic interface circuit16.

In step S520, the microcomputer 15 converts the brightness of the inputimage signal using a gamma (γ) curve or the like, and controls thecamera signal processing circuit 14 so that the gradation in thevicinity of the face brightness component can be increased. Themicrocomputer 15 further updates the adjustment amount ΔEv to reduce itsvalue. Therefore, the captured image signal to which the updatedadjustment amount ΔEv is applied is subjected to gradation correction,and the brightness of the face is corrected. Then, the process proceedsto step S514, and exposure control is performed by applying the updatedadjustment amount ΔEv.

In step S521, the microcomputer 15 outputs control information forrequesting the flash emitter 19 to emit flash light. Then, exposurecontrol is performed using the amount of exposure control Ev determinedby the standard AE control method. At this time, if the shutter releasebutton is pressed, exposure control is performed using the amount ofexposure control Ev determined by the standard AE control method, andthe flash light is emitted.

The processing of steps S515 to S521 described above will further bedescribed with respect to an example.

FIG. 21 shows histogram data obtained when the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied in the state shown in FIG. 10.

In the state shown in FIG. 10, the amount of exposure of the face isexcessively low, and a captured image whose brightness is high as awhole is obtained, as shown in FIG. 21, if the adjustment amount ΔEv isapplied. The pixels included in the high-brightness region VH1 shown inFIG. 10 before the exposure correction are included in a high-brightnessregion VH2 shown in FIG. 21. The lower limit of the high-brightnessregion VH2 is higher than the lower limit of the high-brightness regionVH1 before the exposure correction. Thus, when the adjustment amount ΔEvis applied, the pixels included in the high-brightness region VH2 havean excessive amount of exposure, resulting in a high possibility ofoverexposed highlights.

However, if the flash light reaches the subject, i.e., the face, animage of the face can be captured with higher brightness, and theoccurrence of overexposed highlights in the background or the like canbe prevented even if the adjustment amount ΔEv is not applied.Therefore, if the face is within the range of the flash light (stepS517) and if emission of the flash light is allowed (step S518), animage with the desired balance of brightness between the face and thebackground and without the occurrence of overexposed highlights can becaptured by performing exposure correction using the amount of exposurecontrol Ev determined by the standard AE control method and emitting theflash light (step S521).

If the flash light does not reach the face or if the flash emissionprohibition mode is set, on the other hand, the processing of step S520.That is, the adjustment amount ΔEv is corrected, and brightnessgradation correction is performed, as described below, to capture animage of the face with appropriate brightness while preventing theoccurrence of overexposed highlights.

FIG. 22 shows histogram data obtained when a value lower than theadjustment amount ΔEv (hereinafter referred to as an “adjustment amountΔEv′”) is applied in the state shown in FIG. 10.

If the adjustment amount ΔEv′ lower than the determined adjustmentamount ΔEv is applied to the captured image shown in FIG. 10, the pixelsincluded in the high-brightness region VH1 shown in FIG. 10 before theexposure correction are included in a high-brightness region VH3 shownin FIG. 22. If the adjustment amount ΔEv′ is determined so that thelower limit of the high-brightness region VH3 is not substantiallydifferent from the lower limit of the high-brightness region VH1 beforethe exposure correction, the gradation of the high-brightness region canremain, and the occurrence of overexposed highlights can be prevented.

In this case, however, the amount of exposure of the face is smallerthan the ideal value. If the brightness value at the peak of thehistogram data of the face in the graph of FIG. 22 is represented by Yf′and the limit brightness value based on the peak is represented byYf_l′, the control target value may be deviated by a value (Ya_l-Yf_l′).In step S520, therefore, the occurrence of overexposed highlights isprevented by the adjustment amount ΔEv′, and the deviation of thecontrol target value of the face can be overcome by correcting for thegradation in the vicinity of the face brightness component.

The adjustment amount ΔEv′ is determined by Eq. (25) as follows:ΔEv′=ΔEv+log₂(Yf _(—) l′/Ya _(—) l)  Eq. (25)

FIG. 23 shows an example of the correction curve used in step S520 shownin FIG. 17.

As shown in FIG. 23, in the gradation correction in step S520, forexample, a gamma curve that increases the brightness output in thevicinity of the face brightness component can be used. Morespecifically, as shown in FIG. 23, the gradient of the gamma curve isincreased in a region between the lower limit value Ya_l of the targetbrightness region and the limit brightness value Yf_l′. The image signalis corrected in this manner, thereby increasing the brightness of theface.

In step S520, the adjustment amount ΔEv′ is calculated using Eq. (25)given above and the correction curve, and the current adjustment amountΔEv is updated by the determined adjustment amount ΔEv′. Further, thecamera signal processing circuit 14 is requested to perform gradationcorrection based on the correction curve. Specifically, for example, aplurality of correction curves (gamma curves) with different gradientsare provided in advance, and the adjustment amount ΔEv is applied to theindividual correction curves to determine the limit brightness valuesYf_l′. The correction curve having the optimum limit brightness valueYf_l′ is selected and is used for the camera signal processing circuit14, and the optimum limit brightness value Yf_l′ is used in Eq. (25) todetermine the adjustment amount ΔEv′ to update the adjustment amountΔEv.

FIG. 24 shows histogram data obtained when the adjustment amount ΔEv′ isapplied in the state shown in FIG. 10 and the gradation correction isperformed.

As described above, exposure correction is performed on the basis of theadjustment amount ΔEv′, and gradation correction is performed. Thereby,as shown in FIG. 24, the peak of the histogram data of the face can beincluded in the target brightness range without reducing ahigh-brightness region VH4 corresponding to the high-brightness regionVH1 before the exposure correction. Therefore, the brightness of theface can appropriately be adjusted while preventing the occurrence ofoverexposed highlights in the background or the like, and the desiredbrightness balance between the face and the background can be obtained.

The processing of steps S515 to S521 has been described in the contextof a case in which the adjustment amount ΔEv is determined by theprocessing of step S507 in the flowchart of FIG. 16. If the adjustmentamount ΔEv is determined by the processing of step S505, in step S520,the adjustment amount ΔEv′ is calculated using Eq. (26) as follows:ΔEv′=ΔEv+log₂(Yf′/Ya _(—) l)  Eq. (26)where Yf′ denotes the brightness value at the peak of the histogram dataof the face when the adjustment amount ΔEv′ is applied. The brightnessvalue Yf′ can be determined in a similar manner to the limit brightnessvalue Yf_l′ in Eq. (25) given above.

In the gradation correction in step S520, for example, instead of thelimit brightness value Yf_l′ shown in FIG. 23, the brightness value Yf′at the peak may be used. That is, the gradient of the gamma curve may beincreased in the area between the lower limit value Ya_l of the targetbrightness region and the peak in order to increase the brightnessoutput.

In general, the camera signal processing circuit 14 has a function forperforming gradation correction on an image signal using a gamma curveor the like. The histogram detector 23 detects brightness on the basisof the image signal that has not been subjected to gradation correction,thus allowing more appropriate exposure control according to theprocessing described above. In a case where the histogram detector 23detects brightness on the basis of the image signal that has beensubjected to gradation correction, the lower limit value Ya_l and theupper limit value Ya_h of the target brightness range for the face areset in consideration of the characteristics for the gradationcorrection.

Advantages of Embodiment

According to the image pickup apparatus of the embodiment, therefore,when a face is detected within a captured image, exposure control forappropriately adjusting the brightness of the face can automatically beperformed in the auto-shooting mode without setting an operation modefor appropriately adjusting the brightness of the face, such as aportrait mode. Thus, even a novice user who is not familiar with thesetting operation can capture an image with improved quality of a faceimage.

Further, it can be determined whether or not exposure control forperforming adjustment according to an importance level of a detectedface is to be performed. Moreover, by changing the shift amount of thetarget brightness range, the object intended by the user can beestimated, and various exposure control can be automatically selectedand performed, such as exposure control that places more importance onthe brightness of the face, exposure control that places more importanceon the brightness of the background, or exposure control that placesmore importance on the brightness balance between the face and thebackground. Therefore, an image whose brightness is adjusted can becaptured under various conditions.

Further, exposure adjustment is performed based on a peak or a peakregion of histogram data of a face, thus allowing high-accuracyadjustment of the brightness of the face. For example, in the relatedart, exposure control is performed using an average brightness value ina face region as a brightness value representing the face region.However, if an error occurs during the face detection process, theaverage brightness value of the face region may largely vary, resultingin a high possibility of incorrect exposure control. In contrast, a peakor a peak region of histogram data of a face may not largely vary evenif an error occurs during the face detection process (in particular if aface having a low importance level is not detected by an error), andhigh-accuracy exposure control can be achieved.

Further, exposure control is performed based on not only a peak ofhistogram data of a face but also a peak region of the histogram data,as necessary, and a target brightness range is set. Therefore, a certainrange of the control target of brightness can be obtained, and a naturalimage taking the brightness balance between the face and the backgroundinto consideration can be captured without extreme exposure control thatplaces importance on only the brightness of the face. Moreover, thepossibility of underexposed shadows or overexposed highlights can bepredicted on the basis of a detected brightness value, and can be usedfor exposure control, thereby attaining an appropriate brightnessbalance between the face and the background.

Other Process for Shifting Target Brightness Range

In step S402 shown in FIG. 13, the target brightness range is shifted onthe basis of the color information detected from the face region. Forexample, the target brightness range may be shifted by, as describedabove, determining the reflectivity of the face according to the colorsaturation of the face. However, in particular, when the colorsaturation of the face is low, the reflectivity may not accurately bedetermined. By detecting the brightness of an eye region and comparingthe average brightness of the face with the detected brightness, thereflectivity of the face can be more accurately determined using thecomparison result.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the setting of an eyedetection region. In this example, a detection frame for color detectionis set using the normal frame method, by way of example.

The microcomputer 15 sets a face-region detection frame 131 and eyedetection frames 132 and 133 for the color detector 24 on the basis offace detection results obtained from the face detector 25, such asaccording to a predetermined face contour pattern. Color detectioninformation is obtained from the detection frames 131 to 133, and theaverage brightness of the eye regions is determined. Then, the ratio ofthe average brightness to the average brightness of the face region iscalculated. If the calculated ratio is small, it is determined that thereflectivity of the face is high, and the target brightness range isshifted toward the high-brightness side. If the average brightness ofthe face region is significantly smaller than the average brightness ofthe eye regions, it is determined that the reflectivity of the face islow, and the target brightness range is shifted toward thelow-brightness side. This process allows more accurate adjustment of thebrightness of the face regardless of the skin color of the subject.

Other Modifications

In the above-described embodiment, therefore, a target brightness rangeis set, thereby providing a certain range of the control target ofbrightness and achieving exposure control in consideration of thebalance of brightness between the face and the background. By narrowingthe target brightness range, exposure control that places moreimportance on the brightness of the face can be achieved. Thus, thetarget brightness range may be variably set by the user. For example, ifthe portrait mode is set, the target brightness can be limited to onepoint; whereas if a shooting mode suitable for landscape photography isset, the target brightness range can be increased.

Further, the importance level of the face may be set higher when theportrait mode is set. Accordingly, the target brightness range can beshifted so that more importance can be placed on the brightness of theface.

In the above-described underexposure and overexposure determinationprocessing, the brightness in the entire screen or a detection value ofthe brightness histogram data is used. Alternatively, a detection valuefrom the background, expect for the face, may be used, by way ofexample. Furthermore, the occurrence of underexposed shadows oroverexposed highlights may be individually determined using detectionvalues from both the face and the background. In a case where a facedetection frame is set for the histogram detector 23, the microcomputer15 calculates a detection value of the background from among detectionvalues of the face and the entire screen. If the determinationprocessing is performed on the basis of a detection value of thebackground, it is advantageous that underexposed shadows and overexposedhighlights in the background can be accurately determined particularlywhen the face region is large.

The process for determining an importance level of a face describedabove with reference to FIG. 3 can also be used for the followingapplications, as well as exposure control in the above-describedembodiment. For example, a focus lens is controlled to focus on a facehaving a high importance level. Further, in a case where a face having ahigh importance level exists, color gradation correction is performedusing a special gamma curve for adjusting the color of the person, orparameters suitable for portrait photography are used for an aperturecontroller. Further, a face having a high importance level and thesurrounding area are cut off or cropped, and a picture frame or the likeis combined. Further, those operations can be performed not only by animage signal obtained from an image pickup device but also by an imagesignal recorded on a recording medium or an image signal received over anetwork.

Various image pickup apparatuses using solid-state image pickup devices,such as digital video cameras and digital still cameras, and apparatuseshaving an image capturing function, such as mobile phones and personaldigital assistants (PDAs), may fall within the scope of the presentinvention. Various controllers, such as controllers for videophoneapplications connected to personal computers (PCs) and controllers usedwith miniature cameras for game software, may also fall within the scopeof the present invention.

Image processing apparatuses configured to perform image qualitycorrection in response to an input of an image signal may also fallwithin the scope of the present invention. In this case, after a targetbrightness range is set by the above-described processing, instead ofcontrolling the exposure mechanism on the basis of the target brightnessrange and the information such as the peak or peak region of thehistogram data, the brightness of the input image signal is adjusted tothereby correct the brightness of the face and the background.

The above-described processing functions can be implemented by acomputer. In this case, a program describing the processing of thefunctions to be achieved by the apparatus (such as the above-describedexposure control function, function for adjusting the brightness of theinput image signal, and function for determining an importance level ofa face) is provided. The program is executed by a computer to therebyimplement the above-described processing functions on the computer. Theprogram describing the processing can be recorded on a computer-readablerecording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording mediuminclude a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-opticaldisk, and a semiconductor memory.

The program may be distributed by, for example, selling portablerecording media having the program recorded thereon, such as opticaldisks and semiconductor memories. The program may be stored in a storagedevice of a server computer so that the program can be transferred toanother computer from the server computer over a network.

For example, a computer that is to execute the program stores theprogram recorded on a portable recording medium or the programtransferred from the server computer in a storage device of thecomputer. The computer reads the program from the storage device, andperforms processing in accordance with the program. The computer mayread the program directly from the portable recording medium, and mayperform processing in accordance with the program. Alternatively, eachtime the program is transferred from the server computer, the computermay perform processing in accordance with the received program.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An exposure control apparatus for controlling anexposure adjustment mechanism on a basis of an image signal captured bya solid-state image pickup device, the exposure control apparatuscomprising: face detecting means for detecting a face of a personappearing in a captured image on the basis of the captured image signal;histogram data determining means for determining histogram data bysetting a face detection region in the captured image according todetection information obtained by the face detecting means and detectingat least a brightness value of the face detection region from thecaptured image signal; target brightness setting means for setting atarget brightness range for desired brightness of the face; exposurecontrol amount determining means for, when the face detecting meandetects a face, determining an amount of control for the exposureadjustment mechanism on the basis of a first comparison result obtainedby comparing a width of the target brightness range with a width of arange of a brightness region in a vicinity of a peak of histogram datacorresponding to the face detection region and a second comparisonresult obtained by a second comparison, the second comparison beingdetermined by the first comparison result and using a value in thetarget brightness range; overexposure/underexposure determining meansfor determining a degree of occurrence of overexposed areas and a degreeof occurrence of underexposed areas in the captured image on a basis ofa brightness value of a background region except for the face detectionregion in the captured image or a brightness value of an entire screenregion; and control target shifting means for shifting the targetbrightness range according to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining means so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and supplying the shiftedtarget brightness range to the exposure control amount determiningmeans.
 2. The exposure control apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe exposure control amount determining means determines an amount ofcontrol for the exposure adjustment mechanism so that a brightness valueat the peak of the histogram data corresponding to the face detectionregion or the brightness region in the vicinity of the peak is includedin the target brightness range.
 3. The exposure control apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the brightness region in the vicinity ofthe peak has a frequency equal to or higher than a threshold value thatis determined according to a peak value at which a frequency of thehistogram data corresponding to the face detection region peaks.
 4. Theexposure control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:external light amount detecting means for detecting an amount ofexternal light; and control target shifting means for shifting thetarget brightness range according to the amount of external lightdetected by the external light amount detecting means so as to shift thetarget brightness range toward a low-brightness side when the amount ofexternal light is small and to shift the target brightness range towarda high-brightness side when the amount of external light is large, andsupplying the shifted target brightness range to the exposure controlamount determining means.
 5. The exposure control apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising: color detecting means for detecting colorinformation for the face detection region from the captured imagesignal; and control target shifting means for shifting the targetbrightness range according to the color information detected by thecolor detecting means, and supplying the shifted target brightness rangeto the exposure control amount determining means.
 6. The exposurecontrol apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: reflectivitydetecting means for detecting a face reflectivity according to a ratioof a brightness value of an eye region to a brightness value of a wholeface region among brightness values detected from the face detectionregion; and control target shifting means for shifting the targetbrightness range according to the face reflectivity detected by thereflectivity detecting means so as to shift the target brightness rangetoward a low-brightness side when the face reflectivity is low and toshift the target brightness range toward a high-brightness side when theface reflectivity is high, and supplying the shifted target brightnessrange to the exposure control amount determining means.
 7. The exposurecontrol apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: importancelevel determining means for estimating and determining an importancelevel for a photographer with respect to the face detected by the facedetecting means; and control target range correcting means forcorrecting the target brightness range according to the importance leveldetermined by the importance level determining means so as to reduce thetarget brightness range when the importance level of the face is highand to increase the target brightness range when the importance level ofthe face is low, and supplying the corrected target brightness range tothe exposure control amount determining means.
 8. The exposure controlapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: underexposurepredicting means for predicting a degree of occurrence of underexposedareas in the captured image when the exposure adjustment mechanism iscontrolled using the amount of control determined by the exposurecontrol amount determining means; and gradation correcting means forcorrecting the captured image signal so that brightness gradation in alow-brightness side increases when the degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas predicted by the underexposure predicting meansexceeds a predetermined threshold value.
 9. The exposure controlapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: overexposurepredicting means for predicting a degree of occurrence of overexposedareas in the captured image when the exposure adjustment mechanism iscontrolled using the amount of control determined by the exposurecontrol amount determining means; and gradation correcting means forcorrecting the captured image signal for brightness gradation, whereinwhen the degree of occurrence of overexposed areas predicted by theoverexposure predicting means exceeds a predetermined threshold value,the exposure control amount determining means corrects the determinedamount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism so as to reducean amount of exposure, and the gradation correcting means performscorrection so as to increase brightness and gradation of a brightnessarea including a zone between a lower limit of the target brightnessrange and a lower limit of the brightness value at the peak or thebrightness region in the vicinity of the peak.
 10. The exposure controlapparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the degree of occurrence ofoverexposed areas predicted by the overexposure predicting means exceedsthe predetermined threshold value and when the detected face is within aflash light range and emission of flash light is allowed, the exposurecontrol amount determining means uses the determined amount of controlfor the exposure adjustment mechanism, and issues a request to emit theflash light.
 11. The exposure control apparatus according to claim 9,further comprising display control means for generating displayinformation for displaying warning information on a display to instructa photographer to perform an operation for emitting flash light, whereinwhen the degree of occurrence of overexposed areas predicted by theoverexposure predicting means exceeds the predetermined threshold valueand when the detected face is within a flash light range and emission ofthe flash light is not allowed, the exposure control amount determiningmeans corrects the determined amount of control for the exposureadjustment mechanism so as to reduce the amount of exposure, thegradation correcting means performs correction so as to increasebrightness and gradation of a brightness area including a zone between alower limit of the target brightness range and a lower limit of thebrightness value at the peak or the brightness region in the vicinity ofthe peak, and the display control means generates the displayinformation, and issues a request to display the warning information.12. The exposure control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theexposure control amount determining means determines an amount ofcontrol for the exposure adjustment mechanism using at least abrightness value of an entire screen that is detected from the capturedimage signal, and when the face detecting means detects a face, theexposure control amount determining means corrects the amount of controlfor the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparisonresult obtained by comparing the target brightness range with abrightness value at a peak of histogram data corresponding to the facedetection region or a brightness region in the vicinity of the peak. 13.The exposure control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprisingimportance level determining means for estimating and determining animportance level for a photographer with respect to the face detected bythe face detecting means, wherein the exposure control amountdetermining means determines an amount of control for the exposureadjustment mechanism on the basis of a comparison result obtained bycomparing the target brightness range with a brightness value at a peakof histogram data corresponding to the face detection region or abrightness region in the vicinity of the peak only when the importancelevel of the detected face is equal to or higher than a predeterminedvalue.
 14. The exposure control apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: importance level determining means for estimating anddetermining an importance level for a photographer with respect to theface detected by the face detecting means; and histogram normalizingmeans for, when the face detecting means detects a plurality of faces,normalizing histogram data of a brightness value determined for each ofthe detected faces according to the importance level of each of thefaces, wherein the exposure control amount determining means determinesan amount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism according tothe histogram data normalized by the histogram normalizing means.
 15. Animage pickup apparatus for capturing an image using a solid-state imagepickup device, the image pickup apparatus comprising: face detectingmeans for detecting a face of a person appearing in a captured image ona basis of an image signal captured by the solid-state image pickupdevice; histogram data determining means for determining histogram databy setting a face detection region in the captured image according todetection information obtained by the face detecting means and detectingat least a brightness value of the face detection region from thecaptured image signal; target brightness setting means for setting atarget brightness range for desired brightness of the face; exposurecontrol amount determining means for, when the face detecting meansdetects a face, determining an amount of control for an exposureadjustment mechanism on the basis of a first comparison result obtainedby comparing a width of the target brightness range with a width of arange of a brightness region in a vicinity of a peak of histogram datacorresponding to the face detection region and a second comparisonresult obtained by a second comparison, the second comparison being,determined by the first comparison result and using a value in thetarget brightness range; overexposure/underexposure determining meansfor determining a degree of occurrence of overexposed areas and a degreeof occurrence of underexposed areas in the captured image on a basis ofa brightness value of a background region except for the face detectionregion in the captured image or a brightness value of an entire screenregion; and control target shifting means for shifting the targetbrightness range according to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining means so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and supplying the shiftedtarget brightness range to the exposure control amount determiningmeans.
 16. An image processing apparatus for correcting for a brightnesscomponent of an input image signal, the image processing apparatuscomprising: face detecting means for detecting a face of a personappearing in an image on a basis of the image signal; histogram datadetermining means for determining histogram data by setting a facedetection region in the image according to detection informationobtained by the face detecting means and detecting at least a brightnessvalue of the face detection region from the image signal; targetbrightness setting means for setting a target brightness range fordesired brightness of the face; brightness correction amount determiningmeans for, when the face detecting means detects a face, determining anamount of correction for the brightness component on the basis of afirst comparison result obtained by comparing a width of the targetbrightness range with a width of a range of a brightness region in avicinity of a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detectionregion and a second comparison result obtained by a second comparison,the second comparison being determined by the first comparison resultand using a value in the target brightness range;overexposure/underexposure determining means for determining a degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas and a degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image on a basis of a brightnessvalue of a background region except for the face detection region in thecaptured image or a brightness value of an entire screen region; andcontrol target shifting means for shifting the target brightness rangeaccording to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining means so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and supplying the shiftedtarget brightness range to the brightness correction amount determiningmeans.
 17. An exposure control method for controlling an exposureadjustment mechanism on a basis of an image signal captured by asolid-state image pickup device, the exposure control method comprisingthe steps of: detecting a face of a person appearing in a captured imageon the basis of the captured image signal; determining histogram data bysetting a face detection region in the captured image according todetection information concerning the detected face and detecting atleast a brightness value of the face detection region from the capturedimage signal; setting a target brightness range for desired brightnessof the face; and when a face is detected, determining an amount ofcontrol for the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of a firstcomparison result obtained by comparing a width of the target brightnessrange with a width of a range of a brightness region in a vicinity of apeak of histogram data corresponding to the face detection region and asecond comparison result obtained by a second comparison, the secondcomparison being determined by the first comparison result and using avalue in the target brightness range; determining a degree of occurrenceof overexposed areas and a degree of occurrence of underexposed areas inthe captured image on a basis of a brightness value of a backgroundregion except for the face detection region in the captured image or abrightness value of an entire screen region; and shifting the targetbrightness range according to a determination of the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas and the degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and supplying the shiftedtarget brightness range.
 18. An image processing method for correctingfor a brightness component of an input image signal, the imageprocessing method comprising the steps of: detecting a face of a personappearing in an image on a basis of the image signal; determininghistogram data by setting a face detection region in the image accordingto detection information concerning the detected face and detecting atleast a brightness value of the face detection region from the imagesignal; setting a target brightness range for desired brightness of theface; and when a face is detected, determining an amount of correctionfor the brightness component on the basis of a first comparison resultobtained by comparing a width of the target brightness range with awidth of a range of a brightness region in a vicinity of a peak ofhistogram data corresponding to the face detection region and a secondcomparison result obtained by a second comparison, the second comparisonbeing determined by the first comparison result and using a value in thetarget brightness range; determining a degree of occurrence ofoverexposed areas and a degree of occurrence of underexposed areas inthe captured image on a basis of a brightness value of a backgroundregion except for the face detection region in the captured image or abrightness value of an entire screen region; and shifting the targetbrightness range according to a determination of the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas and the degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and supplying the shiftedtarget brightness range.
 19. An exposure control apparatus forcontrolling an exposure adjustment mechanism on a basis of an imagesignal captured by a solid-state image pickup device, the exposurecontrol apparatus comprising: a face detecting unit configured to detecta face of a person appearing in a captured image on the basis of thecaptured image signal; a histogram data determining unit configured todetermine histogram data by setting a face detection region in thecaptured image according to detection information obtained by the facedetecting unit and detecting at least a brightness value of the facedetection region from the captured image signal; a target brightnesssetting unit configured to set a target brightness range for desiredbrightness of the face; and an exposure control amount determining unitconfigured to, when the face detecting mean detects a face, determine anamount of control for the exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis ofa first comparison result obtained by comparing a width of the targetbrightness range with a width of a range of a brightness region in avicinity of a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detectionregion and a second comparison result obtained by a second comparison,the second comparison being determined by the first comparison resultand using a value in the target brightness range;overexposure/underexposure determining unit configured to determine adegree of occurrence of overexposed areas and a degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image on a basis of a brightnessvalue of a background region except for the face detection region in thecaptured image or a brightness value of an entire screen region; andcontrol target shifting unit configured to shift the target brightnessrange according to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining unit so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and to supply the shiftedtarget brightness range to the exposure control amount determining unit.20. An image pickup apparatus for capturing an image using a solid-stateimage pickup device, the image pickup apparatus comprising: a facedetecting unit configured to detect a face of a person appearing in acaptured image on a basis of an image signal captured by the solid-stateimage pickup device; a histogram data determining unit configured todetermine histogram data by setting a face detection region in thecaptured image according to detection information obtained by the facedetecting unit and detecting at least a brightness value of the facedetection region from the captured image signal; a target brightnesssetting unit configured to set a target brightness range for desiredbrightness of the face; an exposure control amount determining unitconfigured to, when the face detecting unit detects a face, determine anamount of control for an exposure adjustment mechanism on the basis of afirst comparison result obtained by comparing a width of the targetbrightness range with a width of a range of a brightness region in avicinity of a peak of histogram data corresponding to the face detectionregion and a second comparison result obtained by a second comparison,the second comparison being determined by the first comparison resultand using a value in the target brightness rangeoverexposure/underexposure determining unit configured to determine adegree of occurrence of overexposed areas and a degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image on a basis of a brightnessvalue of a background region except for the face detection region in thecaptured image or a brightness value of an entire screen region; andcontrol target shifting unit configured to shift the target brightnessrange according to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining unit so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and to supply the shiftedtarget brightness range to the exposure control amount determining unit.21. An image processing apparatus for correcting for a brightnesscomponent of an input image signal, the image processing apparatuscomprising: a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of aperson appearing in an image on a basis of the image signal; a histogramdata determining unit configured to determine histogram data by settinga face detection region in the image according to detection informationobtained by the face detecting unit and detecting at least a brightnessvalue of the face detection region from the image signal; a targetbrightness setting unit configured to set a target brightness range fordesired brightness of the face; a brightness correction amountdetermining unit configured to, when the face detecting unit detects aface, determine an amount of correction for the brightness component onthe basis of a first comparison result obtained by comparing a width ofthe target brightness range with a width of a range of a brightnessregion in a vicinity of a peak of histogram data corresponding to theface detection region and a second comparison result obtained by asecond comparison, the second comparison being determined by the firstcomparison result and using a value in the target brightness range;overexposure/underexposure determining unit configured to determine adegree of occurrence of overexposed areas and a degree of occurrence ofunderexposed areas in the captured image on a basis of a brightnessvalue of a background region except for the face detection region in thecaptured image or a brightness value of an entire screen region; andcontrol target shifting unit configured to shift the target brightnessrange according to a determination result obtained by theoverexposure/underexposure determining unit so as to shift the targetbrightness range toward a low-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of overexposed areas is high and to shift the targetbrightness range toward a high-brightness side when the degree ofoccurrence of underexposed areas is high, and to supply the shiftedtarget brightness range to the brightness correction amount determiningunit.